_Microbial Schöppingen_, a model based on an old German village, acts as a parallel town where communities of bacteria inhabit Plexiglas houses where they work together to create light. These anaerobic bacteria make an electrical current as they break down food scraps (mostly sugars and carbohydrates) into smaller molecules and ions. The technology is known as a microbial fuel cell (MFC), and in _Microbial Schöppingen_ each MFC consists of an anaerobic anode house connected to an oxygenated cathode house via a proton-exchange membrane. The houses are wired together to power a bright white LED placed in the Plexiglas Altes Rathaus (Old Town Hall). Live shadow puppet performances in the light projected on the wall playfully imagine the microbial community living in the houses. On a fundamental level, _Microbial Schöppingen_ reminds us of the versatility that all life has in harnessing and transforming energy.

While bacteria often have a negative connotation, in reality the majority of bacteria are our closest allies and companions. _Microbial Schöppingen_ reflects on the microbial communities that have developed many special skills and societies, and can even interface with our technologies in unique ways. The researchers at the Laboratory of Microbial Ecology and Technology (LabMET) in Gent, who helped me make these microbial fuel cells function more efficiently have introduced me to many different applications that microbial technologies can have: making biofuels and plastics, recharging offshore ocean sensors and cleaning wastewater while producing energy. If we look to these other, more ancient species on our planet for guidance we may find many beautiful suggestions of how to deal with our current ecological and social crises.

Links: http://www.micklorusso.net/

Sponsored by the Stiftung Schöppingen Künstlerdorf. Scientific advisors: LabMET

Mick Lorusso (US/MX) is an interdisciplinary artist based in Mexico City. Through sculpture, drawing, installations and interactions he re-examines energy as a mysterious force that keeps us alive, runs our technologies and interconnects the microscopic to the galactic. His current work with microbial technologies reintegrates his pre-college interest in microbiology and bioremediation, which he researched as an intern at the University of Utah. He has an MFA in sculpture from the San Francisco Art Institute and a BA from Colorado College, and has exhibited in Germany, Mexico and throughout the western states of the US.